Find Your Space: Art, wine and farming at Womanspace in September

YOU are invited! This Saturday, Sept. 11, is our annual Artists in Action open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit the beautiful Womanspace campus as we launch an exciting new year of programs, art classes and fun events. This is a great opportunity to explore everything we have to offer, so bring your family and friends to experience holistic health, reflexology, jewelry-making and art, of course. You might even get your caricature done!

Next Friday, you can join us for fun, wine and more at our Wine Tasting at Artale Wine Co. Sept. 17. $15 gets you a taste of 40 wines, plus other surprises, including food from Josef Barbados. $10 per person comes back to Womanspace from this fund-raiser, so don’t miss it!

The first Lunch and Learn has been rescheduled from Sept. 8 to next Monday, Sept. 13. Sept. 13, Professor Kanwal Prashar presents a world religion program about Hinduism, the oldest formally-structured faith in the world. Then, Sept. 22, dietician Jeanie Burke shares Foods That Fight Back to help fight and prevent cancer and other diseases naturally. Bring your lunch to these programs, sponsored by State Farm Agent Lisa Mawyer.

Kids will have a blast at our Junior Member programs this fall. Bookgirl meets Sept. 16 to discuss Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Andrea Hazzard welcomes everyone to her First Hand Harvest CSA farm Sept. 18 for Family Day on the Farm. We’ll take a tour, work in the dirt, and, it is hoped, get to eat some food we harvest that day! Sept. 21, Cleverly Coordinated will help kids learn how to get their calendars, photos and parties organized and have fun at the same time. The Wright 3 starts Oct. 6, with mystery and architecture the focus of this sequel to Blue Balliett’s international bestseller, Chasing Vermeer.

Handbuilt Pottery and Beginning Wheel Thrown Pottery classes start the week of Sept. 13, Acrylic Painting begins Sept. 14, and you can give Watercolor Painting a whirl starting Sept. 21. Fall is a great time to give our book club a try, and Bookwoman discusses Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay Sept. 15. Womansong Chorale gathers Sept. 16 for a potluck, and then rehearsals start the following Thursday with director Roberta Flaherty.

All women are invited to attend the Queen of Heaven group Sept. 19 as we continue our exploration of the divine feminine. We will look at advertising and media portrayals of women and its implications for all women and girls, not to mention how it impacts men. Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin leads a special Fall Equinox Celebration Sept. 22 with a program followed by a labyrinth walk.

Looking ahead, Liz Fiorenza of Wind Ridge Herb Farm teaches us how to preserve our fall Herbal Harvest Oct. 4. You can learn how to make your own Beaded Jewelry Oct. 9, and Dr. Lenora T. Maier leads From Pain to Compassion, based on a Pema Chodron video Oct. 12.

Gale Ketteler is program coordinator and marketing specialist at Womanspace, a not-for-profit founded in 1975 and located on a 7-acre campus a half-mile west of Rock Valley College off Spring Brook and Applewood at 3333 Maria Linden Drive in Rockford. Regular office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Thursday. Info at (815) 877-0118, gale@womanspace-rockford.org or womanspace-rockford.org.